Wow. It's been almost a month since I last posted anything here. It's not that I haven't done anything interesting, but rather that we are settling in and life is much more of a routine. Saturday go to the market for tuna, vegetables, and fruit. Sunday go to church. Monday through Friday do pretty much the same routine from week to week.
One note of interest is that our lawyer submitted our application for a permanent visa, with all the necessary paperwork, last Thursday, and she was told to check back with them in a month, as they expected that it would be ready by that time. I hope that it is, as that is a pre-requisite to being able to bring down our household goods without having to pay any duty on them.
People here have told me that it is unseasonably cold right now. Given that we are about three degrees south of the equator, the sun is almost perfectly straight overhead at noon right now. Then as the year progresses it will move on north, such that by June 21 it will be about 26 degrees north of vertical at noon. It will then reverse this course and pass back straight overhead about the first week in October en route to the winter solstice when it will be about 20 degrees south of straight overhead.
In this discussion I have used the reference of the northern hemisphere, even though we are technically in the southern hemisphere, as that is what is familiar to most of my readers. It is also worth noting that if you live north of the Tropic of Capricorn, which is 23 degrees north latitude, you will never see the sun straight overhead at noon. It is always offset somewhat to the south, even on the first day of summer.
It is also worth noting that on the equator the length of the day never changes. It is always twelve hours with the sun up and twelve with it down. Here it actually does vary slightly, but it is on the order of twenty minutes difference between the longest and shortest days of the year. So there is no reason to mess around with Daylight Savings Time, and they don't. So nyah-nyah-nyah to all you folks who have to set your clocks forward and backward each spring and fall, and who did so just this last weekend.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
I just returned from the large open market, plus a quick trip to the local "tienda" for a few things that I couldn't bring from the market. Total I spent $19.95, and the total weight of all my purchases was 50 lb. 3 oz.
The itemized list is as follows:
A pound of fresh tuna - $2.50
A large round squash - $2.00
A large bag of carrots - $1.00
25+ bananas - $1.00
4 pounds of grapes - $4.00
4 large turnips - $0.50
one bunch of swiss chard - $0.25
two pounds of fresh green beans - $1.00
two pounds of fresh shelled beans, - $2.00
A small watermelon, 9 lb. - $2.50
A large pineapple, 5.25 lb. - $1.00
A dozen eggs - $1.20
Four large avocados, 2.75 lb. - $1.00
Here is a picture of most of this, except for the tuna and the eggs. The watermelon is in the middle, while the squash is at the back left. The shelled beans are in the sack in the middle, between the carrots and the green beans. The chard is in the plastic tub that Susan is holding, as she had already stripped it from the stems before I thought to take the picture.
The tuna is brought up fresh from the coast on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so I always pick up a pound fresh for our Sunday dinner. Most of the rest of this is local produce, except the grapes which come from Chile. As this picture should indicate, we eat well, with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The itemized list is as follows:
A pound of fresh tuna - $2.50
A large round squash - $2.00
A large bag of carrots - $1.00
25+ bananas - $1.00
4 pounds of grapes - $4.00
4 large turnips - $0.50
one bunch of swiss chard - $0.25
two pounds of fresh green beans - $1.00
two pounds of fresh shelled beans, - $2.00
A small watermelon, 9 lb. - $2.50
A large pineapple, 5.25 lb. - $1.00
A dozen eggs - $1.20
Four large avocados, 2.75 lb. - $1.00
Here is a picture of most of this, except for the tuna and the eggs. The watermelon is in the middle, while the squash is at the back left. The shelled beans are in the sack in the middle, between the carrots and the green beans. The chard is in the plastic tub that Susan is holding, as she had already stripped it from the stems before I thought to take the picture.
The tuna is brought up fresh from the coast on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so I always pick up a pound fresh for our Sunday dinner. Most of the rest of this is local produce, except the grapes which come from Chile. As this picture should indicate, we eat well, with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Retired again, or at least unemployed
Well, I am no longer teaching at the Escuela Madrid. I told them last week, after 3-4 days of teaching, that it was evident to me that I was wearing down, and that they should look for another English teacher. I would not leave them in the lurch, but I didn't think I could keep up the pace for three months, especially with the other things that I need to take care of.
So, on Friday I saw Alexa (who first took me out there) and her husband in the office when I arrived at the school. They came out of the office a moment later, and she told me that she would be taking over as English teacher, but wanted to go with me to each of my classes that day to meet them and see how it went.
Of course, in the first class I was planning to give a test, but a little over half the class was out for a soccer match, which pretty well blew away any idea of giving a test, or of starting on a new section in the book. So instead I improvised, asking the class if they knew what the English word "ant" meant, and then telling them about my experience with the ants on Monday morning. I also told them that that was my last day to teach, and that Alexa would be taking over on Monday.
The other classes went more according to plan, except the seventh graders, which were involved in a different project, and we just had to skip. I did volunteer to come back as a substitute for a day or two if Alexa had a conflict, or was otherwise unable to be there. I really do enjoy teaching the students, but every day was too much.
On another note, one day during break I saw the boys playing a soccer variant that I had never seen before. They have a very small field, about 18 yards long, cut into the hillside so that both goals have a good backstop. The goals themselves are about 9 feet wide by 6 feet high, and the fronts of the goals are about 16 yards apart (as I paced them off). There is a line drawn on the ground halfway in between, or 8 yards from each goal, and two players stay on their half of the field, meaning they are not allowed to cross the center stripe.
The one in front tries to get in position and kick the ball into the opposing goal, without losing control of the ball and letting it roll across the center line, while the other one hangs back in the goalie position to try to block any shots that come his way. The first score that I saw here came when one of the players gave a powerful kick, which the front player across the line blocked such that it bounced directly into the goal behind the player who kicked it.
When a goal is scored, the team that was scored against sits down and a waiting team rotates in. And if I understood right, it is also the duty of the last team to rotate out to chase the ball should it head off down the hill, which is not uncommon.
So, on Friday I saw Alexa (who first took me out there) and her husband in the office when I arrived at the school. They came out of the office a moment later, and she told me that she would be taking over as English teacher, but wanted to go with me to each of my classes that day to meet them and see how it went.
Of course, in the first class I was planning to give a test, but a little over half the class was out for a soccer match, which pretty well blew away any idea of giving a test, or of starting on a new section in the book. So instead I improvised, asking the class if they knew what the English word "ant" meant, and then telling them about my experience with the ants on Monday morning. I also told them that that was my last day to teach, and that Alexa would be taking over on Monday.
The other classes went more according to plan, except the seventh graders, which were involved in a different project, and we just had to skip. I did volunteer to come back as a substitute for a day or two if Alexa had a conflict, or was otherwise unable to be there. I really do enjoy teaching the students, but every day was too much.
On another note, one day during break I saw the boys playing a soccer variant that I had never seen before. They have a very small field, about 18 yards long, cut into the hillside so that both goals have a good backstop. The goals themselves are about 9 feet wide by 6 feet high, and the fronts of the goals are about 16 yards apart (as I paced them off). There is a line drawn on the ground halfway in between, or 8 yards from each goal, and two players stay on their half of the field, meaning they are not allowed to cross the center stripe.
The one in front tries to get in position and kick the ball into the opposing goal, without losing control of the ball and letting it roll across the center line, while the other one hangs back in the goalie position to try to block any shots that come his way. The first score that I saw here came when one of the players gave a powerful kick, which the front player across the line blocked such that it bounced directly into the goal behind the player who kicked it.
When a goal is scored, the team that was scored against sits down and a waiting team rotates in. And if I understood right, it is also the duty of the last team to rotate out to chase the ball should it head off down the hill, which is not uncommon.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Updates on school and ants
I have now completed three days of teaching, and I have yet to meet with all five classes in a single day. Although tomorrow looks likely to change that string. The kids are wonderful, and I enjoy my time in the classroom, but I really don't enjoy the chunk that this cuts out of each day.
One interesting aspect is that they are giving me a ride home in a school bus (minivan) along with a bunch of the students. Rank hath its privileges, so at least I get to ride in the front seat. As a consequence, I have seen parts of Cuenca that I had not seen before. Although it is not surprising, there are places in Cuenca that I would not be willing to live. I have not taken any pictures of them yet, but they are there.
On another note, when I got up yesterday morning and went in the kitchen, I noticed what at first glance appeared to be a streak of dirt on the floor about an inch wide. As I looked more closely, I realized that it was moving, and that realization was quickly followed by recognition: ANTS
They are tiny, not much more than 3 mm long, and perhaps half a mm wide, but there were thousands, TENS of thousands of them. They had formed three highways, two minor ones, perhaps 4-6 lanes wide, that followed the baseboard along the edges of the living room, and the multi-lane interstate that cut right through the middle. They weren't actually following lanes, but if they had been, I would guess that the one through the middle would have been at least 12 lanes wide. The source was outside the front door in the dirt, and the destination was our trash can in the kitchen. The can was touching the wall, and the combined highways met and traveled up the wall and into the trash. The total distance from their apparent den to our trash was about 25 feet by the shortest path.
I quickly realized that routine tactics were pointless, so I went next door and borrowed their vacuum cleaner. Not worrying about occasional wanderers, I plugged it in and started on the superhighway, followed by the smaller tracks along the walls. I then moved the trash can and sucked up all the ants on the wall and sealed up the garbage sack and took it out for disposal. I then came back and used the vacuum again to mop up the backup squad that hadn't heard that the party was over.
We still have a dozen or two ants roaming our kitchen at any given time, but the trash is no longer an attraction to them, or at least not an accessible one. We are careful not to leave it touching the wall, and apparently the plastic trash can is difficult to climb, to say nothing of the plastic bag that lines the inside. I have read that most small ants like this that infest homes on occasion seek either sugar or protein. Given that these were apparently after our left-over chicken scraps, plus the fact that occasional small bits of sugar don't appear to interest them greatly, I assume that these crave protein. They do not sting, but still, finding masses of them in our kitchen was a shock. We will be more careful hereafter with our scraps.
Given the shock of the moment, I did not take any pictures, and I hope that I don't have any occasion hereafter to do so. So I hope that my verbal description will take the place of pictures this time.
One interesting aspect is that they are giving me a ride home in a school bus (minivan) along with a bunch of the students. Rank hath its privileges, so at least I get to ride in the front seat. As a consequence, I have seen parts of Cuenca that I had not seen before. Although it is not surprising, there are places in Cuenca that I would not be willing to live. I have not taken any pictures of them yet, but they are there.
On another note, when I got up yesterday morning and went in the kitchen, I noticed what at first glance appeared to be a streak of dirt on the floor about an inch wide. As I looked more closely, I realized that it was moving, and that realization was quickly followed by recognition: ANTS
They are tiny, not much more than 3 mm long, and perhaps half a mm wide, but there were thousands, TENS of thousands of them. They had formed three highways, two minor ones, perhaps 4-6 lanes wide, that followed the baseboard along the edges of the living room, and the multi-lane interstate that cut right through the middle. They weren't actually following lanes, but if they had been, I would guess that the one through the middle would have been at least 12 lanes wide. The source was outside the front door in the dirt, and the destination was our trash can in the kitchen. The can was touching the wall, and the combined highways met and traveled up the wall and into the trash. The total distance from their apparent den to our trash was about 25 feet by the shortest path.
I quickly realized that routine tactics were pointless, so I went next door and borrowed their vacuum cleaner. Not worrying about occasional wanderers, I plugged it in and started on the superhighway, followed by the smaller tracks along the walls. I then moved the trash can and sucked up all the ants on the wall and sealed up the garbage sack and took it out for disposal. I then came back and used the vacuum again to mop up the backup squad that hadn't heard that the party was over.
We still have a dozen or two ants roaming our kitchen at any given time, but the trash is no longer an attraction to them, or at least not an accessible one. We are careful not to leave it touching the wall, and apparently the plastic trash can is difficult to climb, to say nothing of the plastic bag that lines the inside. I have read that most small ants like this that infest homes on occasion seek either sugar or protein. Given that these were apparently after our left-over chicken scraps, plus the fact that occasional small bits of sugar don't appear to interest them greatly, I assume that these crave protein. They do not sting, but still, finding masses of them in our kitchen was a shock. We will be more careful hereafter with our scraps.
Given the shock of the moment, I did not take any pictures, and I hope that I don't have any occasion hereafter to do so. So I hope that my verbal description will take the place of pictures this time.
Friday, February 4, 2011
First day of school
I'm sure glad that I started teaching on a Friday. It gives me the weekend to recuperate from my first day, which wasn't all that bad. Mostly I am tired because I didn't sleep well last night, in anticipation. I got to Escuela Madrid a little early, and was pointed to my first class, which were the fifth graders. Other than one girl who had lived for a while in Canada, their English was not very strong, but that is not surprising.
I began by introducing myself and telling them a little about me. Then I took pictures of each of them, in groups of three or so, with their names written on the white board so I could begin to try to learn their names. Here are four of the kids from the fifth grade.
Then I went to the seventh grade and went through the same routine. Here are three of the boys from that class.
And finally I went to the ninth grade, and here are three of the girls from that class.
Normally I will be teaching two other classes as well, but today they were gone on a field trip, so this is where my first day ended. I also picked up textbooks and teacher manuals for each of these classes, but not for those that I did not meet, so I have plenty to keep me busy this weekend. However, I think I am going to enjoy this.
I began by introducing myself and telling them a little about me. Then I took pictures of each of them, in groups of three or so, with their names written on the white board so I could begin to try to learn their names. Here are four of the kids from the fifth grade.
Then I went to the seventh grade and went through the same routine. Here are three of the boys from that class.
And finally I went to the ninth grade, and here are three of the girls from that class.
Normally I will be teaching two other classes as well, but today they were gone on a field trip, so this is where my first day ended. I also picked up textbooks and teacher manuals for each of these classes, but not for those that I did not meet, so I have plenty to keep me busy this weekend. However, I think I am going to enjoy this.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Back, due to reader demand
It has been too long (again) since I last posted. But I have faithful readers who have suggested that it is time to post again, so here goes.
The latest news I will put first. We'll see if I get to any more. I am employed again. The pay is trivial, but I will be teaching English part-time at a private, bi-lingual school in the outskirts of Cuenca. I learned about the need on Wednesday morning, when the mother of one of Susan's piano students arrived and asked me to please consider helping out. Apparently the English teacher at the school, or at least the one who taught the older students, had left without prior notice, and they were without a teacher.
She took me out to the school in a taxi and introduced me to the principal and a few of the teachers, as well as a couple of the classes that were currently teacherless. I was very favorably impressed, both by the location of the school [with a stunning view of Cuenca], and the students themselves. They appear to be friendly and eager to learn, and are well-behaved.
This is a view of the school. It is configured as small pods built into the hillside, and includes a couple of small playing fields for soccer and such. Just going up and down the stairs will help keep me in shape.
Susan and I went back today to make sure that I knew the way and could find the school, since I will be traveling there and back by city bus. It takes almost an hour to get there, depending on the connections and how long I have to wait, although they have promised me that most days I can get a ride home in the school bus, which should be somewhat faster.
I will try to post again after I actually start teaching. Tomorrow is my first day.
The latest news I will put first. We'll see if I get to any more. I am employed again. The pay is trivial, but I will be teaching English part-time at a private, bi-lingual school in the outskirts of Cuenca. I learned about the need on Wednesday morning, when the mother of one of Susan's piano students arrived and asked me to please consider helping out. Apparently the English teacher at the school, or at least the one who taught the older students, had left without prior notice, and they were without a teacher.
She took me out to the school in a taxi and introduced me to the principal and a few of the teachers, as well as a couple of the classes that were currently teacherless. I was very favorably impressed, both by the location of the school [with a stunning view of Cuenca], and the students themselves. They appear to be friendly and eager to learn, and are well-behaved.
This is a view of the school. It is configured as small pods built into the hillside, and includes a couple of small playing fields for soccer and such. Just going up and down the stairs will help keep me in shape.
Susan and I went back today to make sure that I knew the way and could find the school, since I will be traveling there and back by city bus. It takes almost an hour to get there, depending on the connections and how long I have to wait, although they have promised me that most days I can get a ride home in the school bus, which should be somewhat faster.
I will try to post again after I actually start teaching. Tomorrow is my first day.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Too much to cover
It has been too long since I last posted, and there is no way I will cover everything, so I won't even try. Instead, I will talk about a few specific things that I find interesting.
First, when I was out at the Mall del Rio several days ago, I saw the setup in the picture below. It consisted of a wading pool perhaps 12'x20', with about a foot of water in it, and two large inflatable balls of clear plastic. The balls are ~5' in diameter, with a zip-lock kind of opening perhaps 30" long. They would open the seal, let a kid climb in, zip it almost closed, and then stick in the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner and inflate the ball with the kid inside. When inflated, they would finish closing the seal and then the kid would have 3-5 minutes to run, stand up, fall, and otherwise play. Watching them, it was evident that they were getting intense exercise and having a blast. I don't know if such would be allowed in the US. I can think of half a dozen or more issues that might get them shut down, but it looked like a blast.
It was obviously very difficult to maintain your footing inside, but that was part of the fun, as it also looked like it would be very difficult to hurt yourself when falling. And given that it was apparently limited to kids less than 4 feet tall, who can generally fall with impunity anyway, it looked safe to me.
Then yesterday I got invited to go out to a piece of land that is on the market to see if the water looked usable. When we got there, it was socked in with fog, and my GPS showed that it was at about 11,200 feet of elevation. The guy who currently owns the land took me down into a gully to show me where the spring water first surfaces, and then on down to where we hit the road again. He said the forest in the picture was primary forest, and had never been cut. I could feel the organic debris under my feet was probably several feet thick.
He also has a garden, where he raises potatoes and radishes, among other things. He told me that these radishes had been planted as seeds only 28 days earlier.
When I got back, I was hungry, so I went to a place a few blocks away where I had seen a sign advertising roasted chicken. The two skewers on the grill are mine, along with a couple of the potatoes and some mote [it would be posole in New Mexico, or hominy in other places]. Anyhow, the coals had died down some, so the woman preparing my chicken grabbed a blow-dryer to fan the coals and generate more heat. I thought that was very creative. Everything together cost me $3. Next time I will just get one skewer, as I really ate more than I should have.
First, when I was out at the Mall del Rio several days ago, I saw the setup in the picture below. It consisted of a wading pool perhaps 12'x20', with about a foot of water in it, and two large inflatable balls of clear plastic. The balls are ~5' in diameter, with a zip-lock kind of opening perhaps 30" long. They would open the seal, let a kid climb in, zip it almost closed, and then stick in the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner and inflate the ball with the kid inside. When inflated, they would finish closing the seal and then the kid would have 3-5 minutes to run, stand up, fall, and otherwise play. Watching them, it was evident that they were getting intense exercise and having a blast. I don't know if such would be allowed in the US. I can think of half a dozen or more issues that might get them shut down, but it looked like a blast.
It was obviously very difficult to maintain your footing inside, but that was part of the fun, as it also looked like it would be very difficult to hurt yourself when falling. And given that it was apparently limited to kids less than 4 feet tall, who can generally fall with impunity anyway, it looked safe to me.
Then yesterday I got invited to go out to a piece of land that is on the market to see if the water looked usable. When we got there, it was socked in with fog, and my GPS showed that it was at about 11,200 feet of elevation. The guy who currently owns the land took me down into a gully to show me where the spring water first surfaces, and then on down to where we hit the road again. He said the forest in the picture was primary forest, and had never been cut. I could feel the organic debris under my feet was probably several feet thick.
He also has a garden, where he raises potatoes and radishes, among other things. He told me that these radishes had been planted as seeds only 28 days earlier.
When I got back, I was hungry, so I went to a place a few blocks away where I had seen a sign advertising roasted chicken. The two skewers on the grill are mine, along with a couple of the potatoes and some mote [it would be posole in New Mexico, or hominy in other places]. Anyhow, the coals had died down some, so the woman preparing my chicken grabbed a blow-dryer to fan the coals and generate more heat. I thought that was very creative. Everything together cost me $3. Next time I will just get one skewer, as I really ate more than I should have.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Parque Valladolid
Our apartment is at the end of a small gated cul-de-sac just across the street from the Parque Valladolid, or Valladolid Park. Here is a view standing on the street near our apartment looking through the gate and at the park.
This is the corner of the park nearest our apartment. I like the plants and the way the rocks are used to create different sections of the park. It is worth noting here that apparently there are no provisions to water the park. It is watered by rain, or not at all. I have been told that Cuenca gets about 40 inches of rain per year, and the park seems to be doing just fine.
It also has playground equipment in three different places. It may not be obvious at first glance, but one of the items included here is a zip line. Not very steep, and not very high off the ground, but a zip line nonetheless. Some day when no one is looking, I'm going to try it out.
Then this is looking back from the park into our cul-de-sac. Our apartment is at the far end on the left.
Then, just because I probably won't get this picture in if I don't include it now, this is a man that was selling rockets in one of the markets. These are slightly larger than the bottle rockets that I grew up on. I asked the price, and he said "$12 per dozen" which even I can figure out is a dollar each. I didn't get any, but I may go back.
We had a beautiful day today, probably the nicest we have had since arriving. The temperature was up in the upper 70s, with lots of sunshine.
This is the corner of the park nearest our apartment. I like the plants and the way the rocks are used to create different sections of the park. It is worth noting here that apparently there are no provisions to water the park. It is watered by rain, or not at all. I have been told that Cuenca gets about 40 inches of rain per year, and the park seems to be doing just fine.
It also has playground equipment in three different places. It may not be obvious at first glance, but one of the items included here is a zip line. Not very steep, and not very high off the ground, but a zip line nonetheless. Some day when no one is looking, I'm going to try it out.
Then this is looking back from the park into our cul-de-sac. Our apartment is at the far end on the left.
Then, just because I probably won't get this picture in if I don't include it now, this is a man that was selling rockets in one of the markets. These are slightly larger than the bottle rockets that I grew up on. I asked the price, and he said "$12 per dozen" which even I can figure out is a dollar each. I didn't get any, but I may go back.
We had a beautiful day today, probably the nicest we have had since arriving. The temperature was up in the upper 70s, with lots of sunshine.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Samuel and Ben are back
Yesterday we saw Samuel and Ben off at the bus station, where they were going to ride through the night to Quito, to catch a flight this morning back to Albuquerque via Houston. Just a little while ago we got a chat message from Ben that he had safely reached White Rock, so we expect that in another couple of hours we should hear from Samuel as well. It is always a relief to hear from them that they made it back fine.
Ben did note that they arrived in Quito at about 1:00 a.m., which was a couple of hours earlier than we expected. The bus evidently made very good time. Then the plane didn't leave until 7:45, rather than the 6:45 that was originally scheduled. Thus, they had a rather long wait at the airport, but that sure beats missing a flight.
Susan is starting to teach piano lessons, which is a real challenge as she is probably learning more Spanish than her students are playing the piano, but as long as everyone is making progress, it should turn out OK. We have borrowed an electronic keyboard so that they actually have something to take lessons on.
I should also note here that Samuel is writing science fiction in his spare time, and he has posted a few of his short stories at
underfallingskies.blogspot.com
if anyone reading this cares to take a look. He says that his site doesn't get much traffic, so any visitors are welcome.
Ben did note that they arrived in Quito at about 1:00 a.m., which was a couple of hours earlier than we expected. The bus evidently made very good time. Then the plane didn't leave until 7:45, rather than the 6:45 that was originally scheduled. Thus, they had a rather long wait at the airport, but that sure beats missing a flight.
Susan is starting to teach piano lessons, which is a real challenge as she is probably learning more Spanish than her students are playing the piano, but as long as everyone is making progress, it should turn out OK. We have borrowed an electronic keyboard so that they actually have something to take lessons on.
I should also note here that Samuel is writing science fiction in his spare time, and he has posted a few of his short stories at
underfallingskies.blogspot.com
if anyone reading this cares to take a look. He says that his site doesn't get much traffic, so any visitors are welcome.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Bananas and pineapple
I happen to like bananas and pineapple mixed together in bite-sized pieces. Both fruits are available here, fresh and inexpensive, so I try to eat them every morning for breakfast. Here is a picture of the pineapple that I bought yesterday at a nearby fruitstand. I weighed it after I got home, and it tipped the scales at 6 lb. 10 oz. I paid $1.50 for it. Although they are not in the picture, I also like their little bananas, locally called oritos, which are likewise very inexpensive.
And here is a shot of the pineapple on the breakfast bar, with Susan at the sink in our little kitchen. It really is small, but we are getting settled in, and generally are able to find what we are looking for with a minimum of searching.
Today was mostly overcast and cool, with intermittent rain. It was the wettest and coolest day we have had since arriving here. We'll hope for more sun tomorrow.
We are doing well, and despite the cool day, Susan and I went for a walk for nearly an hour this afternoon, just exploring the area around our apartment here. It is interesting to see the variety of homes, ranging from beautiful modern homes, to old buildings, apparently made of unplastered adobe, that look like they are close to falling down.
One difference here is that nearly all homes are built without any offset on the sides, much like what we would consider town homes in the US. This has a lot of ramifications, but it is late, so I may address some of these another time.
And here is a shot of the pineapple on the breakfast bar, with Susan at the sink in our little kitchen. It really is small, but we are getting settled in, and generally are able to find what we are looking for with a minimum of searching.
Today was mostly overcast and cool, with intermittent rain. It was the wettest and coolest day we have had since arriving here. We'll hope for more sun tomorrow.
We are doing well, and despite the cool day, Susan and I went for a walk for nearly an hour this afternoon, just exploring the area around our apartment here. It is interesting to see the variety of homes, ranging from beautiful modern homes, to old buildings, apparently made of unplastered adobe, that look like they are close to falling down.
One difference here is that nearly all homes are built without any offset on the sides, much like what we would consider town homes in the US. This has a lot of ramifications, but it is late, so I may address some of these another time.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Busy, busy
Today is January 6 and the last time I posted was on New Year's Day. I am behind, but I have several excuses, some of which will undoubtedly come out in the course of this blog, although I will try not to be obvious about them.
We are living in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment that has about 550 square feet of floor space. It is really quite adequate for us now, and will be plenty large when Samuel and Ben leave next week, but it will NOT be large enough to accommodate the stuff that we will be shipping down here in a few months. I am starting to think about how we will deal with that, but there are other things that are more urgent.
For example, I just got back from the Coral Central, which is kind of like a WalMart, where I bought a mop, a funnel, and a few grocery items. On the way there I dropped off a bag of dirty clothes at a lavanderia (laundry). It will cost me $3.10 to pick them up, and no other work required on our part.
I made a list the other day of things that I need to get done, and I checked it again today and found that I have done most of what I can for now, regarding those particular items. We got new glasses for Samuel, I called the credit union and got my internet log-in reset, I got my cell phone working again, and we picked up some things for Ben to bring back to friends in White Rock. I still need to get a post office box here, but I did visit the post office, and I know where it is and what I need to bring them in order to rent the box. I visited a bank about opening an account, and it will be a couple of months before I can actually open the account, because I have to bring them my most recent two months of utility bills of some sort - telephone, electricity, etc.
This evening Samuel, Ben, and I went out to eat. We had seen the sign for a buffet about three blocks away, but when we arrived, around 6:45 p.m. there were no people seated, and the buffet had almost no food in it, so we turned around and left. Instead we went to a pizza place across the street and had a very good pizza, family size, probably 18" across, and all that the three of us wanted to eat.
Yesterday Susan and I stopped in to visit a friend that Susan met when we were here last year in her crafts store. While we were there, we heard a commotion outside, and saw that there was a small parade/procession passing by. Here are four pictures that I took.
These riders were leading the parade.
Like the Fourth of July parade in White Rock, passers-by appear to feel free to join in.
These girls were really decked out.
At the end of the parade was this float, commemorating Moses leading the children of Israel through the Red sea.
And with that, I think I'll close for tonight.
We are living in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment that has about 550 square feet of floor space. It is really quite adequate for us now, and will be plenty large when Samuel and Ben leave next week, but it will NOT be large enough to accommodate the stuff that we will be shipping down here in a few months. I am starting to think about how we will deal with that, but there are other things that are more urgent.
For example, I just got back from the Coral Central, which is kind of like a WalMart, where I bought a mop, a funnel, and a few grocery items. On the way there I dropped off a bag of dirty clothes at a lavanderia (laundry). It will cost me $3.10 to pick them up, and no other work required on our part.
I made a list the other day of things that I need to get done, and I checked it again today and found that I have done most of what I can for now, regarding those particular items. We got new glasses for Samuel, I called the credit union and got my internet log-in reset, I got my cell phone working again, and we picked up some things for Ben to bring back to friends in White Rock. I still need to get a post office box here, but I did visit the post office, and I know where it is and what I need to bring them in order to rent the box. I visited a bank about opening an account, and it will be a couple of months before I can actually open the account, because I have to bring them my most recent two months of utility bills of some sort - telephone, electricity, etc.
This evening Samuel, Ben, and I went out to eat. We had seen the sign for a buffet about three blocks away, but when we arrived, around 6:45 p.m. there were no people seated, and the buffet had almost no food in it, so we turned around and left. Instead we went to a pizza place across the street and had a very good pizza, family size, probably 18" across, and all that the three of us wanted to eat.
Yesterday Susan and I stopped in to visit a friend that Susan met when we were here last year in her crafts store. While we were there, we heard a commotion outside, and saw that there was a small parade/procession passing by. Here are four pictures that I took.
These riders were leading the parade.
Like the Fourth of July parade in White Rock, passers-by appear to feel free to join in.
These girls were really decked out.
At the end of the parade was this float, commemorating Moses leading the children of Israel through the Red sea.
And with that, I think I'll close for tonight.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year!
New Year's Day was beautiful here, with temperatures in the low 70s, and bright sunshine. Most stores were closed, but I did buy some fruit and vegetables at the little store around the corner, so we will have enough to last until Monday.
This afternoon Juan took us around to help us get oriented, and then we stopped at a park that sits along the Rio Yanucay. I don't know how large it is, but there were people out there playing and picnicking, and it still was not close to crowded. Here is a picture of everyone else in our party sitting on the grass and enjoying the day. After taking the picture, I also lay down on the grass and almost fell asleep.
We also had difficulty with the internet connection last night and earlier today, but I think we now have it resolved. I hope so, anyway.
Last night Samuel went to a New Year's Eve party with the Cabreras, but the rest of us stayed home. Ben and I went out about 11:30 and watched the fireworks, and then came home and were in bed before 1:00. They were not as impressive as last year, but still a lot of fun. The difference may have had more to do with location than anything else, but this time we are living in a very quiet location, and that is just the way we like it.
This afternoon Juan took us around to help us get oriented, and then we stopped at a park that sits along the Rio Yanucay. I don't know how large it is, but there were people out there playing and picnicking, and it still was not close to crowded. Here is a picture of everyone else in our party sitting on the grass and enjoying the day. After taking the picture, I also lay down on the grass and almost fell asleep.
We also had difficulty with the internet connection last night and earlier today, but I think we now have it resolved. I hope so, anyway.Last night Samuel went to a New Year's Eve party with the Cabreras, but the rest of us stayed home. Ben and I went out about 11:30 and watched the fireworks, and then came home and were in bed before 1:00. They were not as impressive as last year, but still a lot of fun. The difference may have had more to do with location than anything else, but this time we are living in a very quiet location, and that is just the way we like it.
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